Life in College: Before there were children
by yellow blaze
Summary: This sort of goes along with the "Life with Lyrics" series of stories, but you do not have to read those to understand this one. Following Roma's POV most of the time, occasional chapter may be Regis's or Myla's POV. Eventual RomexGermania
1. College Begins!

This sort of goes along with the "Life with Lyrics" series of stories, but you do not have to read those to understand this one. It's pretty much a stand-alone on the relationships that happened while adults were growing up. :)

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Standing before two teenagers, who had just stepped off of a bus, was the looming first building of the college campus. Myla, the shorter of the two, hugged her friend's arm in anticipation, "High school wasn't nearly so scary looking!"

Roma grinned at her in response, "You only look at it that way because we spent the last four years in that building. It was scary when we first got there, too." He dragged her off down the sidewalk, despite protests and aimed to go up the front steps, "We need to pick up our dorm room assignments!"

"C-can't we just look around a bit first?" Myla looked around them nervously, "I'm not really sure if this is the right building…"

Roma pointed to a sign that had the words 'Administration Building' clearly written on the front of it, "We're at the right spot."

Myla let out a whimper but allowed Roma to pull her inside the building, "I guess there's no chance of being in the same room, huh?"

"There's no co-ed rooms here, so no." Roma sighed, then patted Myla on the head, "Maybe we can be on the same floor though. There are co-ed dorms we might be able to at least see each other that way!"

Myla perked up a little and nodded her head in excitement, "Then I hope to have a roommate who's friendly! …A-and who doesn't mind oddballs." She pulled her hat lower over the top of her head as other students brushed by them.

"You're not an oddball." Roma sent her a stern look before stepping up to an open counter.

"Name of enrolled student?" A very tired secretary looked at the both of them over the top of her rimmed glasses.

"Roma Vargas!"

"M-Myla Edenbrook."

She looked in between the two for a moment, moreso at Myla who was still hiding behind Roma, before turning to her computer, "Do you have your room assignments yet?"

"Nope." Roma continued grinning, "Is it possible for the both of us to be in a co-ed dorm?" At the look he was getting in response, Roma waved his hand dismissively, "I know there's no rooms where we can share, just on the same floor would be fine."

"You two can both be on floor three of the East Dorm then. Mr. Vargas, you will be located in room 301…" The secretary promptly handed him a stack of papers that had just printed, "And Miss Edenbrook…" She picked up another pile of papers and handed them off to Myla, "You are in room 310."

Roma glanced at the paper, "East dorm is…"

"Out the doors you just came in, make the first left, and then head straight down that sidewalk. It's the giant brownstone building, you really can't miss it. Next student please!"

Roma hastily pulled Myla out of the way and headed back towards the front doors, "First left and then…"

"F-follow the sidewalk." Myla glanced over her shoulder again, "She seemed really stressed out!"

"I guess the first day is always like this!" Roma shrugged and pushed open the doors, almost bowling into another student that had been just about to open it from the other side, "I'm sorry!"

Both Roma and Myla jumped at the sharp glare from the long-haired blonde before he pushed past them and into the building.

"He was really scary!" Myla panicked, and yanked Roma across the sidewalk, "I really hope we're not anywhere near him!"

"Last thing I want to do is get into a fight on the first day…" Roma cried, "I should have just enrolled online!"

Myla puffed out her cheeks, "No! You said you'd go to college with me! We're making it through this together!" She stretched both arms out over her head and looked back at Roma, "We can do this!"

"You have more faith in us than I do now." Roma wilted but followed after her.

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Roma paused in front of his door and looked over at Myla who was waving her hand at him, trying to motion him inside, "I don't want to… what if he's like that other scary person?"

"We spent two hours going around campus because neither one of us could work up the nerves to go into our rooms! Now shoo!" Myla waved her hand again before pushing open her own door.

Surprisingly, their two rooms were almost diagonal from each other, though Roma was quite relieved that he had a friend nearby.

Roma sighed and turned the key in the door, dragging his suitcase into the room along with him. Well, it was quiet at least. Maybe the other person wasn't here yet. Roma relaxed a little and walked further into the room, noticing a name was scrawled on a marker board in the narrow hall. He squinted at the handwriting, trying to make sense of it for a minute, before deciding a personal introduction would be better than trying to guess someone's name from that scribble. He pushed his suitcase into the empty bedroom and found his roommate in the kitchen.

"…" Roma hesitated in the doorway. Standing in front of the stove was the exact same student he had pushed the door into earlier. _Oh great. Just my luck._ "Um…h-hello!"

The blonde turned to look over his shoulder and Roma almost jumped a foot at the glare he was getting, "You're the one from earlier."

"Sorry about that… I was talking to Myla and didn't even see you there." Roma rubbed the back of his head, attempting to smooth the situation over, but he didn't seem to be very…talkative.

The other male just turned his back to him and went back to arguing with the stove, "Does this thing even work?"

Roma crept over silently and peered around him, "…You turned the burners on, not the oven."

Receiving another glare for his attempt at helping, his roommate grumbled under his breath about the kitchen appliance being too hard to understand and started twisting the knobs back the other way.

"A-anyway, since we're going to be in the same room, what is your name?" Roma tilted his head curiously.

"Do we have to know each other's names?"

"Well I could just call you Mr. Gargoyle but I don't think you'd appreciate that." Roma quickly went to the other end of the kitchen at the look on the other's face.

"You are not calling me that!"

"Then give me something else! I have seen one facial expression so far, and it's scary!" Roma cried, hiding behind the dining table.

"I wrote my name in the hall! It's Regis Beilschmidt!"

"That scribble you call writing is not legible." Roma peered over the table, and quickly ducked again at a flying serving utensil, "Scary!"

"How am I supposed to get through an entire year with you?!"

"How am I supposed to survive a year with you!" Roma cried, "You're scary!"

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Just so anyone who's reading this knows, I'm not going to be writing chapters that take place inside of class, this is just going to be taking place inside dorm rooms or someplace else on campus. Also, if any of my Life with Lyrics readers are reading this, hopefully it offers a little insight on the past. :)


	2. Pain isn't as bad

Updates are going to be kinda… here and there since I'm also updating four others. Give me a little bit of leeway with this one. xD

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After the first month had passed with his singular-expression-roommate (and several trips fleeing out of the room and across the hall to cry to Myla over the unfriendly gargoyle), Roma had reached a point of understanding with Regis. If he left the blonde alone instead of offering criticism (though Roma called it trying to help), then they would get along just fine (also known as: they wouldn't talk at all).

_It's so quiet in here…_ Roma cried inwardly, trying to focus on the papers in front of him, rather than the male who was sitting across the table. College was going uneventfully so far (and the time passed by extremely slow), but at least doing classwork outside of class made some time go by (though he could scarcely believe he was even _happy_ about having homework considering his high school track record of being a slacker).

Roma tapped his pencil on the table a few times, reading through the textbook chapter a second time while he was trying to answer the questions in front of him.

"What major are you going for anyway?"

Roma blinked. Conversation starters rarely came from Regis, but Roma only smiled in response, "Teaching." He looked back down at the textbook, pretending not to hear the snort of disbelief, "What are you aiming for?"

"I'm not. Just taking some business courses." Regis shook his head and frowned at the paper in front of him.

Roma fought off the urge to suggest taking a cooking class on top of his business case classes and hid the laugh from behind his hand.

"I can't imagine you as a teacher at all." Regis set his book down and took a sip from the coffee mug next to him, "Then again, I can't imagine you in any job."

Roma blinked up at him, "I have to make a living somehow." He shrugged slightly, "Someone actually recommended the teaching position. Didn't have any other ideas for college, so might as well try. If it doesn't work out, then at least I can say I did try."

Regis stared at him for a few minutes with an expression of disbelief (that would make the second facial expression Roma had seen in the last month), the blonde shook his head once more and went back to focusing on his homework, "I guess even you can be serious once in a while."

"How mean." Roma pouted, "I can be serious whenever I want to be. But there's no point in being serious all the time. All you're doing is forcing yourself to grow up too fast."

"I'd rather be grown up than acting like a child!"

Roma started laughing, but a knock on the door interrupted the conversation before either one could say anything more. Roma stood up and wandered to the door while Regis grumbled under his breath at the audacity of his strange roommate.

"Myla!" Roma instantly hugged the silver-haired female that was standing outside their door, "You came over here to visit!"

"You act like it's such a long walk. It's five feet." Regis snapped from the dining room.

"He's so mean." Roma cried, tugging on Myla's sleeve, "Stay over here and keep me company!"

Myla's face turned red and she hastily shook her head in refusal, "Not happening! I'll come over during the day, but you're on your own at night!" She patted Roma on the head a few times before peering around the corner at Regis, "Hello again."

Regis just gave a half-wave without looking up from the pile of papers (Roma swear they multiplied while he was out of the room) on the table.

"What's up?" Roma walked down the hall, away from the dining room a little, "Normally you don't come over in the evening."

"Ah, actually it's nothing. I just finished my classwork early and thought I'd come over." Myla blushed a bit and rubbed the back of her head with one hand, "I didn't realize you were still working."

"It's fine, it's fine. I was just getting a headstart actually. Nothing is due tomorrow." Roma waved his hand nonchalantly and flopped on the couch in the livingroom, "Sit, sit!"

Myla dutifully sat down next to him and pulled her legs up onto the couch. "It seems strange." She spoke quietly, hugging her knees to her chest. "It feels like we should still be in high school, doesn't it?"

"Now and then." Roma leaned his head back and closed his eyes, "But there are also times when I'm glad we're not there anymore."

Myla smiled slightly, "I don't miss the people we went to school with. But… I do miss the school." She sighed quietly, "It was… easier."

"Was it?"

"I guess I didn't think that the first time we went through our four years. But comparing it to what school is like now, it really was so much easier."

Roma stretched his arms out in front of him, "Focus on something else if college is getting too hard. Like what you're going to do after school."

"I don't know what I'm going to do." Myla cried, "I have no idea at all! I'm just taking a few classes here and there to try and see if there's any subject I'm better at, but it seems I'm about average in everything…"

"You could always be a stay-at-home-mom." Roma suggested, and received a punch in the arm for his comment.

"No!" Myla pouted, "I refuse to rely on my husband to do everything! I'm going to be a strong mother, you watch and see! I'm going to be there one hundred percent of the time!"

"…You are going to be a stay-at-home-mom. And a protective one at that." Roma laughed.

"If my child looks like me, someone's going to have to be." Myla buried her face in her hands, "I don't want them living the same way I did. I want them to have a friend like I have you."

Roma smiled and hugged his friend, "Then I'll just have a kid the same age and problem solved!"

Myla started laughing, "And we'll have to find people who can put up with both of us!"

"If Regis can put up with me, he can put up with you." Roma motioned to the wall that was separating the room they were in and the dining room, "Though in the month I've known him, I have seen a grand total of two facial expressions. He'll probably scare any child that comes into your household."

Myla's face turned dark red and she shook her head fervently, "No no no no no! I really don't think he likes me at all!"

Roma watched her for a moment, "You like him though."

Myla's face turned a darker shade of red (something Roma didn't think was possible, but she looked so cuuuuute), "Shush!" She smacked him with a pillow, "Shush shush shush!"

"Ahahahaha!" Roma kept laughing, and blocked the assault with his arm, "Cheer up Myla! Sooner or later we'll find people who can put up with both of us, I guarantee it!"

"I wonder which one of us will get married first." Myla looked upwards towards the ceiling, "I can't even imagine myself as a mother now that I think about it… what kind of children will they be?"

Roma tilted his head slightly, trying to imagine the future, "I can't see it either. But you'll probably be married first anyway. You got cuteness going for you."

Myla smacked him with the pillow again, "Stop that!"

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(one month later)

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Regis had discovered a few things in the last couple months at college. His roommate wasn't as bad as he initially thought the other male would be. Sure, there were a few intolerable moments, but having Roma around really did improve some things (like his cooking, not that he was going to admit it). Regis glanced around the darkened room as he entered the hall, but then… there were also these moments. He rolled his eyes as he looked at the marker board. Once again, the call of the wild had appealed to the other male and Roma had run off to god-knows-where, rather, a party that was happening somewhere. Fortunately it was not nearby, as he couldn't hear any loud music or any other questionable 'sounds'.

Regis shook his head in disdain at the idea of even _going_ to a party and sat at the dining room table. A quiet evening of studying would do himself (and his grades) some good. Strange though, it always seemed a little _too_ quiet when his roommate wasn't there. They hardly spoke to one another, but the constant tapping of the pencil was absent as well. Regis looked at the empty chair across the table, briefly wondering where he was at. _He'll probably drag himself back after midnight again, half-drunk._ Scowling, he went back to his textbook.

Roma's albino friend didn't come by when Roma wasn't there either (not that he personally cared), but he wondered if she went to the parties with him. Come to think of it, were she and Roma just friends or were they going out? It was hard to tell sometimes. His eyes narrowed slightly as he thought of how close the other two seemed to be. They acted like brother and sister one moment, and _extremely_ close the next.

There was a sharp click and a soft _thump_ from the hall and Regis glanced towards the darkened door, waiting to see the state of his roommate. He didn't have to wait long, because he could actually hear the shuffled steps before he even came into view. _Definitely drunk._ Regis slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead. He had consumed alcohol _once_ in his life, and only once. Never again, thank you. He remembered the night full-well, even if the other person involved did not (or didn't seem to). He never understood why alcohol helped some people forget, while the one night he wanted to, Regis found he couldn't.

But now… Regis watched as Roma staggered by the doorframe. He wasn't sure if it was out of concern, or because he didn't want to find Roma sleeping on the floor, but Regis followed him down the hall, making sure his roommate had at least made it to his bedroom (which he had, after several minutes of leaning against a wall).

"Why do you drink so much?" Regis asked, leaning in the doorframe while Roma collapsed on the bed.

There was a long silent pause, and he was half-expecting to find that the other male had fallen asleep, but an answer came at long last, and it wasn't at all what he was expecting to hear.

"Numbs the pain of the past."

Regis blinked several times. The way Roma behaved, he never would have even known that Roma had problems before. "I'm not even going to ask."

"Wouldn't tell you even if you did."

Regis, having turned away, glanced over his shoulder to see that Roma had buried himself in the blankets. At least Roma wasn't the type of drunk who would burst into tears and start wailing about everything that had happened in their life, good or bad, but… _the silence is worse._ Regis winced and left the room, letting the door shut quietly behind him before he returned to the dining room table.

Still, it left him wondering. _What on earth could be so bad that he goes to a party just to drink?_

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and so it begins.


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